California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)

General Psychology—Course Planning Tool

The Course Planning Tool is a formatted spreadsheet that facilitates a three-step process for institutions to establish and compare the instructional costs before redesign (the traditional course) and the instructional costs after the redesign (the redesigned course).

Step #1 shows the calculation of all personnel costs associated with preparing and delivering the course expressed as an hourly rate. Annual salary for faculty listed is the average of all faculty teaching the course and includes a 32% benefits rate. Step #2 uses this initial calculation to determine the cost of preparing and delivering the traditional course. Step #3 calculates these costs for the redesigned course. More specific Course Planning Tool instructions are available.

Below are a summary of the cost savings anticipated at Cal Poly Pomona and the completed course planning tool.

Cost Savings

Cal Poly Pomona seeks to reduce costs while continuing to increase the number of students served in General Psychology. This project represents a second-generation redesign of a model that has been in place since 1996.

There are 4 spreadsheets below. The first shows the instructional costs per hour for the various personnel, as noted above. The second shows the cost of the traditional course that enrolled 1500 students in sections of 50. The third shows the cost of a pilot redesign implemented in 1995-96 when enrollment was increased to 120 students per section as if the redesign were implemented in the entire course. (The redesign was actually implemented in one section per term.) The fourth shows the planned redesign that will serve a total of 2250 students annually in 5 sections of 450 students each.

In the pilot redesign, lectures were replaced by videotaped presentations delivered in the classrooms using cable television and the Internet. Each faculty member spent slightly more time delivering the course to more than double the number of students. Cal Poly achieved a cost-per-student savings of about 44% (from $135 to $75). While the cost-per-student decreased, Cal Poly believes that the pilot redesign is too labor-intensive with increased time spent in tutorials, chatrooms and email. In addition, with only seven rooms at the university able to accommodate more than 100 students, Cal Poly cannot rely on this model.

In the planned redesign, one faculty member and 8 TAs will serve each large section. Faculty time will be reduced from 2520 hours in the pilot redesign to 645 hours in the final redesign. Much of this time will be spent working with the TAs and working directly with students. These changes will further reduce the cost-per-student from $75 to $21, a 72% decrease, while increasing the number of enrolled students to 2250. Together the two redesigns will reduce the cost-per-student from $135 to $21, an overall reduction of 84% and the student enrollment will increase by 750 students. The savings will be used to serve an increasing number of students and to lower the student-faculty ratio in other courses at the university. In addition, the university will be able to use classrooms previously dedicated to teaching General Psychology for other courses.

[For more detailed information regarding their initial academic redesign, consult the project plan description.]

Step #1: Determine Instructional Costs per Hour

Instructional Costs per Hour—General Psychology

Step #2A: Determine Instructional Costs of Traditional Course

Instructional Costs of Traditional Course—General Psychology

Step #2B: Determine Costs of Earlier Revision of Traditional Course

Instructional Costs of Current Course—General Psychology

Step #3: Determine Instructional Costs of the Redesigned Course

Instructional Costs of Redesigned Course—General Psychology

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